May 10 2012
Illusion – Back Building Workout to Make Your Waist Look Tiny
It’s all an illusion!
Want a tiny waist? One of the best ways to make your waist look smaller is to build the muscles in your back. Here’s an awesome back building workout to make your waist look super tiny!
Guys, if you have been just watching the workouts, this is a good one for you to actually DO!
I am a tiny little girl. If I can do more pull ups than you, then you have some work to do!
Ladies, don’t be intimidated by pull ups! If you can’t do one yet I explain how to build up in the previous post, “Can’t Do a Pull Up Yet? Here’s How to Build Up” and once you get more advanced, “Guide to Doing Pull Ups – Phase 2.”
You can do this! Nothing makes you feel more kick a$$ than bustin’ out a few pull ups!
Get into the best shape of your life with me, at home, for free! Make a decision to change your life. One workout at a time. One meal at a time. No excuses! You don’t need equipment. You just need commitment!
xoxo ~ Cori
Illusion – Back Building Workout to Make Your Waist Look Tiny
Illusion – Back Building Workout to Make Your Waist Look Tiny
SONG: Benni Bennassi – Illusion
SONG: Benni Bennassi – Illusion
Workout Breakdown
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Time: Personal Best! As long as it takes. |
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Workout Type: Rep challenge |
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Workout Exercises: 5 |
Get your gear:
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BANDS Get your bands here |
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SANDBAG Get your sandbag here |
Buy the same nutrition products as me:
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PROTEIN Get your protein here |
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SUPER GREENS Get your super greens here |
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Peanut Butter Get your PB2 here |
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EGG WHITES Get your egg whites here |
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Tea Get your tea here |
Illusion – Back Building Workout to Make Your Waist Look Tiny
5 exercises. 10 reps for each exercise. 4 sets. If you can’t do 10 pull ups, just do as many as you can and build up each time you try this workout. We go through the first 3 exercises in a giant set. We superset the last 2 exercises. Beginners, if you are concerned about not being able to do a pull up, simply modify it so you can do it successfully. You can check out the previous post, “Can’t Do a Pull Up Yet? Here’s How to Build Up” and once you get more advanced, “Guide to Doing Pull Ups – Phase 2” to help you. Even if you can’t do a regular pull up yet, you can do assisted pull ups. There is no shame in that. We all start at the beginning.
Remember to post your scores! I want to know how you did! Posting if you were able to get through the workout 4 times and how long it took you! Posting it right here on this page is a great way to keep track of your workouts so you know when you’re making progress!
Rotator Cuff Warm Up:
Always warm up with a dynamic warm up and rotator cuff exercises for any upper body work.
Giant Set: Pull Ups, Sandbag Pull Overs, Band Straight Arm Lat Pull:
Pull Ups
10 – 10 – 10 – 10
If doing the full 10 reps is too hard right now, work your way up to it! Here’s what I do… I try to get in as many sets of 10 as I can, but if I fatigue I rest for a minute then finish the set. I tend to get in one set of 10, then have to drop it to 8, rest a second, and get the last 2 in for the other sets. Remember to lift your chest up to the bar and not to let your back round at all. Try to your best to not let your back round at the very top of the movement when you get tired. Try to keep your chest up even at the top! I’m continually working on my own form on these. Let’s work on it together!
Sandbag Pull Overs:
10 – 10 – 10 – 10
Lie on a bench with your back flat. Keeping your elbows slightly bent throughout movement, lower the sandbag over your head until your upper arms are in-line withg torso. Pull the sandbag up and over your chest. Repeat. Your range of motion is dependent on your individual shoulder flexibility. Go slow and make sure you aren’t going too far if this is your first time trying pull overs. You don’t want to injure your shoulders by reaching too far overhead! Make sure you are really squeezing your lats when you bring the sandbag up.
Band Straight Arm Lat Pull:
10 – 10 – 10 – 10
Stand facing the band with your feet shoulder width apart. Grab the band and keep your hands shoulder width apart, arms straight. Start with the band at shoulder level, arms extended and parallel to the floor. Bend your knees slightly, keeping your head straight and lower back in a natural arch. Lean forward just a little bit and inhale deeply. Keeping your arms straight, pull the band down toward your thighs in a wide, sweeping arc. Focus on using just your lats as you pull. Exhale hard as you pass the midpoint of the arc and squeeze your lats hard once your hands reach your thighs. Return to the starting position in a smooth, controlled motion, stopping once your arms are parallel to the floor. Don’t allow your elbows to bend. We want to work your lats, not your triceps.
Narrow Pull Ups:
10 – 10 – 10 – 10
I know. At this point your lats are getting fatigued and you’re saying, “Cori, more pull ups?” Yes. More pull ups. This time I want your hands narrow. Bring your hands as close together as you can. Pull yourself up. You can always modify them or break up the sets if you get fatiqued. Just keep working your way up! Remember to lift your chest up to the bar and not to let your back round at all. Try to your best to not let your back round at the very top of the movement when you get tired. Try to keep your chest up even at the top!
Band Wide Grip Lat Pull:
10 – 10 – 10 – 10
Stand facing the band with your feet shoulder width apart once again. Grab the band, bend your elbows and pull into you, but with a very wide grip . Keep your grip wide even as you pull the band toward you. Make sure you lean forward just a little bit, bend your knees slightly, keep your head straight and lower back in a natural arch. Keep your abs tight throughout the exercise and breathe deeply.
There it is. Take this workout to the gym, to a park, or do it in your own home. I can show you how, but now it’s up to you to do it.
I go through 4 rounds of each set, then finish out with a few extra pull ups. It took me just over a half hour to get through this workout. I also do 45 minutes of stairs with intervals and additional cardio later in the day with my doggies. It doesn’t come easy for me. I have to put in a lot of work to make my goals happen. Now it’s your turn. Start with your own personal best and try to improve each week.
Post your scores! Post how many rounds you were able to go through! Try to come up with a way to make the exercises even more challenging! Try to have even better form than me! How long did it take you?
Follow Through
I like to post something about cardio and nutrition at the end of every post because it is important.
Cardio and nutrition are going to be two of the most important parts of achieving your results, no matter what what your goal is. You can not work off your nutritional decisions with exercise. What? You can’t eat a donut, then just do 2 hours of cardio and *poof* it will be like it never happened? That’s what I’m saying. Come on. No. You can’t.
Your body doesn’t work like a simple addition or subtraction problem. It is not calories in vs. calories out. What you eat has a chemical effect on your body. Even if you do cardio to ‘burn it off’ the chemical effect is still present. Different sugars have an affect. Different proteins have an effect. Different fats have an effect. When you take a vitamin, you understand that it has an effect in your body that cardio will not ‘work off,’ right? Food works the same way. Different foods have positive and negative chemical effects within our body. You can’t just work them off.
You have to unlock and unleash the body fat by working with your body in every aspect. Your body works in harmony like a symphony. When one instrument is off, the entire song doesn’t sound right. A good steady drumbeat can’t make up for a guitar that’s out of tune. 2 hours of cardio cannot make up for a donut. Or pizza. Or macaroni and cheese. Or wine and a baguette. Got it?
Cardio
I do a minimum of 45 minutes of stairs with intervals as cardio each and every day. When I’m trying to lose fat I usually do two separate 45 minute cardio sessions a day. Even while I have been recuperating from the car crash, I have still been able to do at least one session of my daily cardio. I love my cardio and I like to stay conditioned. I personally prefer to do a little more cardio than the average figure competitor, then also eat a little more. It takes more time and effort, but I feel the pay off is well worth it. The pay off is that I feel awesome. I feel energized by cardio. I love it.
Post Workout Nutrition
When I was trying to gain muscle I finished every workout with a protein shake, animal protein, and some complex and simple carbs. These are healthy choices for gaining or for performance. These are not the right choices for me for trying to lose fat, define and sculpt muscle. Trying to define and sculpt muscle is different from gaining muscle. This means I need to eat something different.
When I am trying to lose fat and sculpt muscle, I am much more strict with my diet. Only true food sources. No protein powder.
I finish up every workout with lean protein from true food sources (a little red meat, white chicken, white fish and egg whites are best) and some dark green veggies or Super Greens mixed with water only. Again, no protein powder. If you are a vegetarian you would most likely need to supplement with protein powder. If you are not, let me say again that true food sources work best for losing body fat.
Even when I am trying to lose fat, I still FEED my body.
Want more information about nutrition? Check out BPM.tv Nutrition 101.
You can also look at my current personal fat loss diet in order to get ideas on how to develop your own nutrition plan.
Cori Ann’s Prepping Fat Loss Diet:
You can click on the link to my fat loss diet to get details about what works for me, but here is the basic breakdown.
This is my meal plan while I am trying to lose fat and define muscle. My carbohydrates come from complex sources only and are kept to about 100 grams per day.
My sugar is kept at about 18 grams per day. That’s it. That is less than what is in one banana. That means fruit is not in my fat loss nutrition plan. My sugars come from minimal amounts that naturally occur in veggies and in the complex carbs I eat each day. No matter what your goal, I highly recommend you watch your sugar intake, even ‘healthy’ sugar like fruit, and moderate it to a minimum based on your own personal goals.
My protein is kept at about 250 grams per day and comes from high quality, organic, free range (or wild) lean animal sources. My fats are kept at about 40 grams per day and come from my protein and complex carbohydrate choices (not additional plant sources like olive oil, coconut, nuts, or avocado).
That equals about 1800 calories per day. I don’t drop it much lower than that.
I eat natural, organic, whole foods that I cook myself, or if possible I eat them raw. I drink 1 to 2 gallons of water and a couple cups of either coffee or tea. There is no mysterious, magical diet. If you want to lose bodyfat you need to eat a fair amount of lean protein and A LOT of green veggies at every meal. Period.
Did you like this post? Tell me in the comments!
Please share your thoughts and questions in the comments. Don’t be shy! Your comments may help to inspire another. Your questions may help someone else who has the exact same question, but is too shy to ask. I love hearing from you!
Try to come up with a way to make the exercises even more challenging! Try to have better form than me! Let’s inspire each other.
Sep 15, 2012 @ 16:24:05
Ok! My goal! 10pull ups by Thanksgiving (a little more than 2 months)! Have a loooong way to go…
. Good stuff!
Pull ups: 2-2-2-1
Sandbags: 10-10-10-10
Straight arm band lat pull:10-10-10-10
Narrow pull ups : 2-2-21/2-11/2
Wide band lat pull down:10-10-10-10
PHEW! Shaking arms…couldn’t even send a text for an hour!